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Last Year:  Last season seems so far away and it is even longer this year with the delay in the start of games for the Big Ten. The conference fans want nothing more than to see their favorite teams on the field. Ohio State fans just need something to get the taste of the playoff game behind them. We should have stuck to the original schedule and played Illinois 7 weeks ago. But we have to move forward now and cheer on the scarlet and gray. As for our Buckeye 50 predictions for the 2019 season, website co-founder Pat ‘PJSBuck’ Steger took the title for the first time. Congratulations ‘Sir’ Pat.

This Week’s Games:  As we enter week 8 of the college football season, it will be as if the Big Ten teams are trying to catch up to the back of a moving train. Yet at the same time they have been able to watch this season unfold and learn. The rest of the country better be ready. Here are the games we are predicting this week. Ohio State starts off with Nebraska which is a bit ironic since the Huskers were very vocal in working to get the season back for the conference. Does Coach Frost have them ready this year or will they still need time to get back to the powerhouse they once were?  ….  Speaking of powerhouses, Texas and Oklahoma are already doing the ‘wait till next season chant’.  At this point Oklahoma State is on top of the Big 12 and they may have one of their biggest challenges this week against Iowa State.  Can the Cowboys stay unbeaten and continue to play for a playoff berth?  ….  Another Big Ten cross divisions game this week is Michigan at Minnesota. The Wolverines have had 5 years to return to dominance under Coach Harbaugh. Is this the year he leads them to Indy or will he leave their fans disappointed once again in 2020?  ….  The Cincinnati Bearcats have started the season where they left off last year. Unbeaten so far this season can they keep the streak alive against SMU on the road?  ….  The ACC clearly has no team that can challenge Clemson, good thing for the Tigers they don’t have to worry about getting back to the playoffs. But Coach Brown is doing positive things for the Tarheels and they almost beat the Tigers last year.  But North Carolina needs to face Triangle Park foe NC State this week, will they rebound from their unexpected loss to the Seminoles last week?

Buckeye Greats:  As with the past, we will continue to include former Buckeye players in our prediction fun and we are thrilled to have Vaughn Broadnax back with us as a regular participant for the sixth straight year.

Here we go with our Week 8 Picks – Good Luck to All – Gregg 

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 (8)Nebraska @ (5)Ohio State

Andy:  Is this the year that Nebraska re-establishes themselves? Sadly I think not. While Nebraska has assembled a good staff and has been recruiting better, they still have the toughest schedule of all Big Ten teams and open at Ohio State this weekend. I know last year Adrian Martinez was banged up, but with quarterbacks I need to see it to believe it. I haven’t seen Adrian Martinez play well at any point in his career and suddenly this year he is supposed to be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten? Add to this Nebraska lost their best player on their roster from last year in J.D. Spielman who transferred to TCU, I don’t see much offensive firepower for Nebraska this year. I do think Scott Frost is the right guy for the job, but it is going to another year or two.   Ohio State 38 – Nebraska 17

Coach Rick:  Ohio State

Cory:  Remember last year when people hyping Nebraska up? Seems like a while ago. The Cornhuskers may be an improved team, but opening a shortened season on the road against Ohio State is too tall of a task for them.   Ohio State 35, Nebraska 13

Dave:  Ohio State 48  Nebraska 12

Dr. Mark:  Ohio State

Gregg:  For those of you out there that follow Ohio State and Big Ten basketball as much as Jason and I do, you remember the days of the BIG tournaments where OSU would be a #1 seed and they would not play until the last game on Friday night. By the time they hit the hardwood for that 9:40ish tip, over half the conference had already been eliminated from play.  That is a bit what it feels like for this year’s football squad. The Bucks have been cooling their heels in the locker room while the rest of the country has been throwing the pigskin around.  As a result, almost all the teams in the country have eliminated themselves from playoff consideration. Win out and they will find themselves playing for the title come January. We just need to take the season one week at a time and hope we can give the playoff committee enough games for consideration.  As for this week, I love what Scott Frost was doing off the field to try to get a season, but on the field he doesn’t have a Husk of a chance to win.  Ohio State will come out fast, smooth it out in the second quarter and play a lot of faces in the second half.   Ohio State 54  Nebraska 13 

Jason:  Ohio State   ….   big

Joe-S-U:  Ohio State

John:  Only two things can keep Ohio State out of the CFP this year – Covid and themselves.  With there being a real possibility of cancelled games due to Covid in the Bucks future, style points will definitely count.  Look for OSU to put the hammer to UNL.   Ohio State 56  Nebraska 17

Josh:   Can anyone stop the Buckeyes in the Big Ten this year? Nebraska goes against a loaded Ohio State team that returns a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball, and put up 49 points in Lincoln last year, while just barely missing the shutout. Nebraska has been the brother-in-arms along with Ohio State as pushing for the Big Ten football season back on track, so there is a mutual respect off the field in this game, but on the field, its business. Don’t take it too personal Cornhusker fans if the Buckeyes put up 50 points this game. They are just trying to make a statement and mark, and trying to catch up to stay in the conversation with Clemson and Alabama, who are once again at the top of the College Football landscape. Justin Fields has progressed a lot this offseason according to many reports, and has been meeting with Coach Ryan Day every weekday. He will need to be every bit as good as he was and then some that last year, and I think we all are excited to get that last season game off our back, and have new football to excite us for this season. The Buckeyes make a statement from the get go, and cover the growing spread before halftime. Ohio State 56 – Nebraska 10

Pia Pete:  Buckeyes knock off the rust off and earn their top 10 ranking.  OSU 64 – UN 17

PJSBuck:  FINALLY, football at last. I was about ready to check myself into a clinic for Buckeye football withdrawal!! I have a sneaky suspicion that OSU is MORE THAN ready to play. I think we will see the obligatory rust-effect in the first quarter but settle down after that. Yes, Nebraska had the same time to wait and rev their engines but I have a hunch we will be loaded for bear. Areas to watch (I am not ready to say “concern” yet until we play) but we have question marks at TB; we have a LOT of questions about our secondary and questions on the defensive line. We are going to be fine at TB and I really like what I have heard about Trey Sermon (sp?) and apparently Master Teague is close to 100%. I am glad Wade is back in the secondary but three other “relatively-green” guys will play with him. Will have to wait and see. If there is a true “just plug in the next player” effect then Larry Johnson will do his magic on the D-line, so I am confident but still want to see how we do. The coaching teams and staff are still there. And, in case you didn’t know, there are signs all over the Woody Hayes Center with the score of our last bowl game with Clemson. That would seriously piss me off. One area of major curiosity for me will be what kind of defense Kerry Combs dials up and how aggressive we are. I was off and on when he coached the secondary, so we will see. Ohio State 47 Nebraska 21. ENJOY!!!

Steven:   I’m always trepidatious regarding the first conference game of the season, no matter who it is.  No one knows how this year’s version of the Buckeyes will gel, especially on defense.  Nebraska really shouldn’t scare anyone, but I don’t expect the walk-over we had last year. This will be a test-run game, and hopefully we’ll see a lot of players play so some scoring by the Huskers in the second half shouldn’t come as a surprise.  In the end, though, too much talent on OSU’s offense should be able to overwhelm Nebraska.   OSU 48-17

Trout:  Glad to see that Big Ten football is back. Although I would like a few warm up games before entering the conference schedule, unfortunately this year won’t allow for that. I still think the Buckeyes are going to dominate this game. With Justin Fields leading the high power offense, I don’t really see any other school  standing a chance with the Buckeyes, besides WIsconsin and Penn State. I think the game will start slow. The Bucks will definitely have some rust. But once they get going, the Cornhuskers will be hard pressed to stop them. I think Nebraksa will be slightly improved from last year, but will not be any kind of a threat. I see the Buckeyes winning big in this one.   (Ohio State, 45-16)

Vaughn Broadnax (OSU 1980-83):  Scott Frost is in his third year with the Cornhuskers and it’s now time to show some return on Nebraska’s investment. That is going to be tough sledding against the Buckeyes. Although Nebraska manages to score points against OSU’s youthful defense, the Buckeyes’ offensive Tsunami is too much force to withstand. The Buckeyes overwhelm the Cornhuskers 52-21.

Final Score:  Ohio State 52   Nebraska 17

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(18)Iowa State  @  (6)Oklahoma State

Andy:  This could be one of the most interesting matchups of the week. Oklahoma State is the only Big 12 team who is undefeated and has a legitimate shot at the playoffs this year. I think Iowa State who has played the spoiler role in the last two years will be happy to do it again, especially considering Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy has played well his last two games throwing for over 550 yards and 3 touchdowns. Oklahoma State has a lot of offensive firepower, but this Cyclones team is one of the teams that has been a land mine in years past for other Big 12 teams.   Iowa State 31 – Oklahoma State 27

Coach Rick:  Oklahoma State

Cory:  It’s tough to determine just how good either of these teams are. The Cyclones upset Oklahoma and put together a couple of nice wins over TCU and Texas Tech. The Cowboys, on the other hand, are undefeated but with wins over Tulsa, West Virginia, and Kansas. I like the toughness the visitors have shown thus far this season.  Iowa State 28, Oklahoma State 24

Dave:  Oklahoma State 32  Iowa State 24

Dr. Mark:  Oklahoma State

Gregg:  Raise your hand if you had Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Iowa State on top the Big 12 in the 4th week in October! The Big 12 has almost played themselves out of the playoffs but if the Cowboys go unbeaten, they WILL deserve a seat at the table. But they have to earn it.  One of the biggest tests they have left will be this week against Iowa State. The Pokes have only given up 27 points all year and I think their defense will be the difference. Waited three weeks for this game.   Oklahoma State 34  Iowa State 13

Jason:  Oklahoma State

Joe-S-U:  Oklahoma State

John:  Ah, Big XII football, the land that defense forgot.  Look for the other OSU to win in a shootout.  Oklahoma State 49   Iowa State 45

Josh:   Oklahoma State sits alone at the the top of the Big 12 after Texas and Oklahoma, they two preseason favorites, have played themselves out of any College Football Playoff conversation. On paper, both teams are similar in style, and Oklahoma State is coming off of 2 straight weeks for this game, while Iowa State had the week off after riding high from knocking off Oklahoma. Iowa State though has been able to attack through the air more this year under Matt Campbell, and that has been the weakness so far for the Cowboys. The key to this game will be ball control though, and I think that even though this is at Stillwater, Iowa State will start off strong, and contain Hubbard to just around 100 yards, while putting pressure on freshman Shane Illingworth. Iowa State 31 – Oklahoma State 21

Pia Pete: The Cowboys keep their spot in the top 10.   OSU 34 – ISU 27

PJSBuck:  I am a closet Okie fan since one of my employees in Tulsa graduated from there. Haven’t followed these two super-closely but like the offense of Oklahoma State a lot. They should just save defensive scholarships and line up all offensive players (sigh). Iowa State is a much improved team so record this one as it will be fun to watch. Oklahoma State 58 Iowa State 41

Steven:   Am I the only one who is pretty unimpressed by ISU coach Matt Campbell? The supposed next big thing for the last couple of years continues to have teams that underachieve. The ‘Pokes will run, pass and kick all over the Cyclones.   OSU 55-24

Trout:  I will assume that with most Big 12 games, we won’t see a lot of defense.  I believe that the Cowboys will win this game, but it will be closer than expected. The Cyclones have already toppled Oklahoma. Which granted, doesn’t look as great now, but is still a major victory for them. I think Oklahoma state is a more talented team than Iowa State, but I don’t think there is a major discrepancy. I see both teams racking up the points, but in the end, the Cowboys better talent wins out.  (Oklahoma State, 38-31)

Vaughn Broadnax (OSU 1980-83):  Oklahoma State has survived a tumultuous off-season and Iowa State let the Big 12 down with an opening season lost to the Ragin Cajuns. I am going with Big 12 leader Cowboys over the Cyclones 35-31.

Final Score:  Oklahoma State 24   Iowa State 21